We often talk a lot about the importance of brotherhood in the NFL. In a game so brutal and competitive, it’s important to be aligned with your “brothers” on your team as you push for that cliche common good.
But what about the actual blood-related brothers we’ve seen in the NFL over the years? Which ones were the most notable? Who were the best players? Who were the most famous? Who holds the most influence and power over the NFL landscape, even to this day?
Let’s rank the best brother pairings in NFL history and see where some rather familiar names stand in the ultimate show of sibling unity.
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Jason McCourty was a solid NFL starter for over a decade who won Super Bowl LIII with the New England Patriots. Devin McCourty was a valued long-term member of the second core of the Bill Belichick era in New England, capturing three Super Bowls, two Second-Team All-Pro, and two Pro Bowl selections in the process.
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Chris Long is one of the more underrated defensive ends in NFL history. He showed it at the tail end of his career when he played two key roles with two separate Super Bowl championship teams in Philadelphia and New England. Kyle Long, in his heyday, was one of the NFL’s finer interior offensive linemen as he made three Pro Bowls during his nine-year career.
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Stefon Diggs is one of the better receivers of his generation, best known for “The Minneapolis Miracle” and four years of Pro Bowl excellence with Josh Allen on the Buffalo Bills. Trevon Diggs is a talented corner in his own right, thus far securing two Pro Bowls and a First-Team All-Pro selection in 2021 as a member of the Dallas Cowboys. He’s still just 26 years old.
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As a member of the Denver Broncos, Shannon Sharpe was one of the greatest tight ends in NFL history. At the time of his retirement, he led the NFL in most relevant tight end receiving statistics and finished his career with three Super Bowl rings (two with the Broncos, one with the Baltimore Ravens). At his peak, Sterling Sharpe was arguably just as good as a receiver for the Green Bay Packers, as he was a First-Team All-Pro and the NFL receptions leader three times each from 1989 to 1993.
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Ronde Barber is renowned as one of the most versatile and physical cornerbacks in league history. He played 16 seasons with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was one of the best players on their Super Bowl 37-winning team. On the New York Giants, Tiki Barber was a terrific all-worldly running back during his glory days, making three Pro Bowls and rushing for at least 1,200 yards in every season from 2002 to 2006.
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Michael Bennett was one of the more underrated pass-rushers of his era. As a key cog on the “Legion of Boom” Seattle Seahawks, Bennett made three consecutive Pro Bowls from 2015 to 2017 and helped the franchise win its first-ever Super Bowl in 2014. He was also well-known for using his NFL platform to champion social justice and human rights causes. Martellus Bennett was an athletic dynamo of a tight end who made the Pro Bowl in 2014 and started for the Patriots in their Super Bowl 51 victory.
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In his prime, J.J. Watt was arguably the most destructive force of nature for any defense in NFL history. His 2012 to 2015 stretch, where he captured three of four Defensive Player of the Year Awards for the Houston Texans, is still unfathomable to this day. Likewise, T.J. Watt is a similarly prolific defender who is arguably just as dominant as his older brother. The Pittsburgh Steeler talisman is a perennial First-Team All-Pro and is sitting on one Defensive Player of the Year (and counting).
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John Harbaugh is the second-longest tenured active head coach in the NFL (17 years) for the Baltimore Ravens. He brought the organization its second Super Bowl championship in 2013, ironically in a win over his brother’s San Francisco 49ers. The Ravens have been a Super Bowl contender largely every year under John’s guidance. Jim Harbaugh, meanwhile, is a coach accustomed to seeing every program and team he touches turn into gold. After winning a national championship with Michigan in January 2024, Jim’s latest venture is unsurprisingly revitalizing the once-snakebitten Los Angeles Chargers.
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As players and as celebrities, the Kelce brothers are finally giving the top duo on this list a real run for their money. Travis Kelce is arguably the greatest tight end of all time (with apologies to Rob Gronkowski and Tony Gonzalez). He has three Super Bowl wins with the Kansas City Chiefs (and counting?) and is dating a mega-pop star. Jason Kelce is one of the best interior offensive linemen of the modern era. He was the heart of the first-ever Philadelphia Eagles Super Bowl-winning team, and he will walk into Canton one day very soon.
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At this point, Peyton and Eli Manning are basically synonymous with the NFL’s culture. Peyton Manning is probably one of the five best quarterbacks ever to play this sport. He has five MVP awards and two Super Bowl victories to show for it. Eli, meanwhile, managed to knock off Tom Brady’s Patriots not once but twice in the Big Game and probably has a spot in Canton, too, as a result.
However, long after their playing days, both Manning brothers remain active in the NFL media sphere. They have their own show broadcast during most Monday night games in the regular season and have seldom shied away from being ambassadors for the modern game. And if you think the hoopla around these two will ever tamper down someday soon, just wait until they’re analyzing their nephew Arch Manning at the pro level in a few years.
